Wallace Reid

Person

Wallace Reid

Acting April 14, 1891

Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

Wallace Reid was an American actor in silent film referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover". Wallace Reid appeared in several films with his father, and as his career in f…

IMDb

Known for

Popular titles

The Birth of a Nation

The Birth of a Nation

5.9 1915 Movie
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

7.1 1916 Movie
The Avenging Conscience

The Avenging Conscience

5.9 1914 Movie
Joan the Woman

Joan the Woman

5.7 1916 Movie
Carmen

Carmen

6.1 1915 Movie
The Affairs of Anatol

The Affairs of Anatol

5.9 1921 Movie
The Roaring Road

The Roaring Road

6.1 1919 Movie
The Woman God Forgot

The Woman God Forgot

5.7 1917 Movie
The Golden Chance

The Golden Chance

6.6 1915 Movie
Hawthorne of the U.S.A.

Hawthorne of the U.S.A.

6.3 1919 Movie
Excuse My Dust

Excuse My Dust

5.9 1920 Movie
A Trip to Paramountown

A Trip to Paramountown

7.8 1922 Movie

Photos

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Biography

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Wallace Reid was an American actor in silent film referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover". Wallace Reid appeared in several films with his father, and as his career in film flourished, he was soon acting and directing with and for early film mogul Allan Dwan. In 1913, while at Universal Pictures, Reid met and married actress Dorothy Davenport. He was featured as Jeff, the blacksmith, in The Birth of a Nation (1915) and had an uncredited role in Intolerance (1916), both directed by D. W. Griffith; he worked with leading ladies such as Florence Turner, Gloria Swanson, Lillian Gish, Elsie Ferguson, and Geraldine Farrar en route to becoming one of Hollywood's major heartthrobs. Already involved with the creation of more than 100 motion picture shorts, Reid was signed by producer Jesse L. Lasky and starred in over 60 films for Lasky's Famous Players film company, which later became Paramount Pictures. Frequently paired with actress Ann Little, his action-hero role as the dashing race-car driver drew young girls and older women alike to theaters to see his daredevil auto thrillers such as The Roaring Road (1919), Double Speed (1920), Excuse My Dust (1920), and Too Much Speed (1921). While en route to a location in Oregon during filming of The Valley of the Giants (1919), Reid was injured in a train wreck near Arcata, California and needed six stitches to close a 3-inch (8 cm) scalp wound. To keep on filming, he was prescribed morphine for relief of his pain and Reid soon became addicted, but kept on working at a frantic pace in films that were growing more physically demanding, and changing from 15–20 minutes in duration to as much as an hour. Reid's morphine addiction worsened at a time when drug rehabilitation programs were non-existent. He died in a sanatorium while attempting to recover.

Filmography

Movies and shows, newest first

  1. 1961
    The Legend of Rudolph Valentino

    Movie Self (archive footage)

  2. 1942
    Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)

    Movie Self (archive footage)

  3. 1932
    The Movie Album

    Movie (archive footage)

  4. 1931
    The House That Shadows Built

    Movie (archive footage)

  5. 1922
    Thirty Days

    Movie John Floyd

  6. 1922
    Night Life in Hollywood

    Movie Self

  7. 1922
    Clarence

    Movie Clarence Smith

  8. 1922
    The Ghost Breaker

    Movie Walter Jarvis, a Ghost Breaker

  9. 1922
    Nice People

    Movie Captain Billy Wade

  10. 1922
    A Trip to Paramountown

    Movie Self

  11. 1922
    The Dictator

    Movie Brooke Travers

  12. 1922
    Across the Continent

    Movie Jimmy Dent

  13. 1922
    The World's Champion

    Movie William Burroughs

  14. 1922
    Rent Free

    Movie Buell Arnister Jr

  15. 1921
    Don't Tell Everything

    Movie Cullen Dale

  16. 1921
    Forever

    Movie Peter Ibbetson

More credits
  1. 1921
    The Affairs of Anatol

    Movie Anatol Spencer

  2. 1921
    The Hell Diggers

    Movie Teddy Darman

  3. 1921
    Too Much Speed

    Movie 'Dusty' Rhoades

  4. 1921
    The Love Special

    Movie Jim Glover

  5. 1921
    The Charm School

    Movie Austin Bevans

  6. 1921
    The Affairs of Anatol - Promo Reel

    Movie As himself

  7. 1920
    Always Audacious

    Movie Perry Dayton / 'Slim' Attucks

  8. 1920
    What's Your Hurry?

    Movie Dusty Rhoades

  9. 1920
    Sick Abed

    Movie Reginald Jay

  10. 1920
    The Dancin' Fool

    Movie Sylvester Tibble

  11. 1920
    Excuse My Dust

    Movie 'Toodles' Walden

  12. 1920
    Double Speed

    Movie 'Speed' Carr

  13. 1919
    Hawthorne of the U.S.A.

    Movie Anthony Hamilton Hawthorne

  14. 1919
    The Lottery Man

    Movie Jack Wright

  15. 1919
    The Valley of the Giants

    Movie Bryce Cardigan

  16. 1919
    The Love Burglar

    Movie David Strong

  17. 1919
    You're Fired

    Movie Billy Deering

  18. 1919
    The Roaring Road

    Movie Walter Thomas 'Toodles' Walden

  19. 1919
    Alias Mike Moran

    Movie Larry Young

  20. 1919
    The Dub

    Movie John Craig (The 'Dub')

  21. 1918
    Too Many Millions

    Movie Walsingham Van Doren

  22. 1918
    The Man from Funeral Range

    Movie Harry Webb

  23. 1918
    His Extra Bit

    Movie The Husband

  24. 1918
    The Source

    Movie Van Twiller Yard